Exposure: St Deluxe

Glasgow four-piece St Deluxe channel the fuzzed-up ghosts of Sebadoh, My Bloody Valentine and early Teenage Fanclub, with their eponymous debut album a sweet blend of plaintive melodies and old-school overdriven antics. Guitarist Martin Kirwan talks about the band Alan McGee calls ‘a Scottish Nirvana for the twenty-first century’.

How was the album to make?‘Jamie’s dad runs Riverside Studios in Glasgow, so we did it there. We could take our time over it, layer stuff up and experiment a wee bit more, which was great.’

You also worked with esteemed indie producers Joe Foster and Calvin Johnson, how did that come about?

‘With Joe, we were out watching a band and he was there so we just asked if he fancied it. He liked our stuff so much so he decided to put it out on his label. We chanced our arm with Calvin Johnson as well. He was playing in Glasgow so we emailed him. Turns out he had a day off so we got him into the studio. He was amazing, he really added an extra edge to stuff.’

You’re also Duglas Stewart’s BMX Bandits backing band. How does that compare to your own distortion-drenched racket?

‘It’s easy to switch, they’re totally separate things. Sometimes maybe it’s hard to hold ourselves back from stepping on the pedals in the Bandits. It’s good fun doing that stuff, but this band is obviously the main focus for us.’